Ahhhhh, high-altitude survival!

Chapter 39, Selling Ice Basins at Affordable Prices

Sure enough, when I switched from the private message interface to the public chat, I saw that the chat channel was noisy and full of various voices.

"I can't go on, I really can't hold on anymore, my head is so dizzy! My vision is starting to blur and go black."

"Waaaaah, is it really only 40 degrees Celsius? It feels much hotter than summers before! The food has already started to spoil in less than half a day!"

Where there are those who cry, there are those who laugh. Many people who switched to the ice basin started showing off in the public chat: "Haha, this ice basin is great for freezing beer, it cools down in just a few minutes. Jerky with beer, the more you eat, the better!"

"Happy fatso water, I have never tasted such wonderful happy fatso water!"

With so many people showing off, naturally some people become envious. Many can't help but ask, "Where did you get all this good stuff?"

"Go find Lin Yue to exchange it! I bought the ice basin and dried meat from her. Let me tell you, you must get a new ice basin and put it in the middle of the room. It will cool the whole room down. When it's about to melt, throw in a piece of saltpeter, and it will solidify quickly. It's really useful."

Even without him saying it, everyone knew the ice basin was definitely useful; otherwise, the system wouldn't have given a special notification. However, let alone rare items like space stones and blueprints, many people have been struggling to even fill their stomachs these past few days. Where would they find so many resources to exchange for an ice basin?

Just then, someone posted a video on the public screen, completely igniting the craze for ice basins.

In the video, a large black bird lies covered in blood on a wooden floor, looking extremely pitiful. Next to it is a seemingly energetic bald man, excitedly recounting the scene: "Holy crap, that was so close! Just a few minutes ago, this huge bird suddenly swooped down on my platform. I had just changed the ice basin and put it out. It slammed its wing onto the ice basin and then froze for a moment, like it was frozen solid! Instinctively, I grabbed a piece of metal and smashed it over its head, and I actually killed it!"

After saying this, the man paused for a moment, seemingly savoring something, and then continued, "More importantly, I was showing mild heatstroke symptoms and was losing blood. But after killing this big bird, I gained 10 experience points and leveled up immediately. All my stats were fully restored, and the heatstroke symptoms disappeared! So don't worry about losing blood; you can recover it after leveling up."

At this point, the other players on the public chat could no longer contain themselves. In addition to those who were already privately messaging Lin Yue, many players started calling out to her directly on the public chat.

"Lin Yue, check your private messages. I don't have any special supplies right now, only iron blocks and wood. Could I trade you for an ice basin?"

"Lin Yue, please, please save me. I have a child who is asleep, and I don't want him to never have the chance to open his eyes again."

"Lin Yue, my health has dropped below 20. I'll give you everything, just please give me an ice basin in return, okay?"

"Lin Yue, look at the private messages, I have some blueprints to exchange with you."

"Hey, Lin Yue's private messages must be overflowing right now, how can she possibly keep up? Lin Yue, I have a skill book here, how about we trade it for an ice basin?"

"Holy crap, are they crazy? They're even willing to trade skill books?"

"I'm out of options. I have nothing here, and I can't find a single raw material needed for the skill book. I was holding onto it because I couldn't bear to part with it, hoping to save it for when it would be of great use. But I can't hold on any longer. My health is dropping, so I have to find something else to survive."

Lin Yue didn't notice, but Zhou Zeyang had been staring intently at the public chat. Seeing this, he excitedly called out to Lin Yue, "Sister Lin, someone wants to exchange a skill book for an ice basin. Contact him quickly!"

Because she received so many private messages, Lin Yue had already turned off the notification function. After exchanging the ice basin, she didn't even have time to eat, chewing on dried meat while using the new materials she had just acquired to quickly make the ice basin. Only when she felt the vibration in her friend list did she have a moment to glance at it. Upon seeing that it was a skill book, she immediately stopped what she was doing.

This was the first time Lin Yue had ever heard of skill books in the game! She had always thought that all skills could only be learned through trial and error, just like her cooking and Xu Tiantian's sewing.

The person selling the skill books was a middle-aged woman, 42 years old, named Zhang Wanfang. Although she didn't play games much before, she understood that having a skill would make her successful anywhere. Unfortunately, the location where she dropped the skill book wasn't good; there wasn't even a blade of grass around, and the skill she got was the one that required the most raw materials, so she kept it.

Zhang Wanfang originally intended to exchange it for another skill book, but she did not expect the temperature to change so quickly. In addition, she is relatively large and particularly intolerant of heat. After enduring this for half a day, she felt that she was about to suffer from heatstroke and faint. With no other choice, she reluctantly took it out to exchange for an ice basin.

Lin Yue was naturally delighted that the other party was willing to exchange. Since the skill book was truly precious, in addition to the ice basin, she also gave her an extra 15 saltpeter stones, which should be enough for her to survive for the next three days. Zhang Wanfang's heartache lessened somewhat, and her favorability towards Lin Yue increased considerably.

After receiving the skill book, Lin Yue eagerly checked its description: [Pharmaceutical Making (Beginner): After learning this skill, you will master basic pharmaceutical knowledge and be able to make simple medicines to treat basic diseases.]

Lin Yue clicked the "Learn" button without hesitation, and a new entry appeared in her skill bar.

Unfortunately, directly learning skill books doesn't provide attribute bonuses, but looking at the three new potion recipes in her skill bar—wound medicine, detoxifying pills, and fever reducers—Lin Yue was quite satisfied.

Knowing everyone was eager for the ice basin, Lin Yue didn't delve into the details further and quickly exited the skill interface. However, in just a few minutes, the number of people calling for her in the public chat had multiplied several times over.

"Lin Yue, I've just finished packing everything. Besides the wood needed for the house, I have a bundle of leather, five stones, seven plastics, two iron basins, and a bottle of eight-treasure porridge. Here, take them all. Could you please get me an ice basin instead?"

"Upstairs, this isn't enough. They just exchanged it for a skill book."

"He still has a bundle of leather, that might be useful, right?"

"Leather is only useful in winter, right? It's so hot right now, who would want to replace it!"

"Exactly, the value difference is huge. You couldn't even buy a refrigerator with this stuff in modern times, could you?"

Most people were not optimistic about this deal, but unexpectedly, Lin Yue replied: "Okay, you keep the eight-treasure porridge, send me the rest, and I'll trade you the ice basin."